Summary
Navigator is a file system browser for IREX DR ereaders.
It works with DR800 and DR1000, both with or without DR800+ or Mackx's hack.

Installation
Copy the contents of the this package to <SD card>/Programs folder on your DR.
They aren't any external dependencies.

Instructions
You can browse using the bar or with the stylus. Note some advanced features are only possible with the stylus.
For safety reasons, you can only browse your SD card contents.
You can open books and notes, run applications (from SDCARD/Programs) or open books/folders from Shorcuts (DR1000 and DR800+) too.
Books opened in Navigator update the lastread field on the database so they will also appear con CTB's LastRead view.
Tap on columns headers to change sorting.
To see bottom bar icons you will need DR800+ (DR800) or Mackx's Hack (DR1000). In case you haven't installed any of them, you should use the menu.

UI and Navigation

Code:

* with the bar
- left: up one file
- long left: 10 files up, or parent folder if in first entry
- right: down one file
- long right: 10 files down
- press: enter a folder, open a book, or run an application (.desktop)
* tap with the stylus on
- file name or file type: enter folder, open book, run application
- first column, size or mtime: focus on this file
- last column: mark/unmark file
* at the top of screen
- current folder path. It works like breadcrumbs,
you can click on a partial path
- button bookmarks. Have breadcrumbs-like functionality too
- button last read books. You can open the book or browse its folder
- button last visited folders. Have breadcrumbs-like functionality too
- button search (not implemented yet)
* the menu
- Show/hide book information details
- Show/hide hidden files
- Toggle fullscreen
- Help
- Close
- Actions:
. Delete file(s)
. Edit metadata (not implemented yet)
. Update metadata from file (not implemented yet)
. Mark as unread
. Create shortcut
. Open containing folder, only for virtual folders
- Virtual folders:
. Shortcuts, same as in DR1000 or DR800+
. Recently added, by default shows 25 entries but configurable,
sorting is not allowed
. Recently opened, by default shows 25 entries but configurable,
sorting is not allowed

Configuration file
Navigator stores its preferences in the configuration SDCARD/Programs/_config/.navigator/navigator.ini
Note first bookmark is also the folder showing at the start.
I include here an example. Contents are between ===== lines:

Looks interesting, I'll try it and see. just a couple of things. How do you install it? and when MACx updates his patches do you have to re-install?
Or do you just run it as an application?
(My DR is in the Office just now and I'm not...)

Device: iRex iLiad, in love with iRex DR800S. Also a K4NT. Now a Kobo Aura

Quote:

Originally Posted by pthwaite

Looks interesting, I'll try it and see. just a couple of things. How do you install it? and when MACx updates his patches do you have to re-install?
Or do you just run it as an application?
(My DR is in the Office just now and I'm not...)

This is a prerelease for adventurous people, so I haven't written documentation for now...

To install, copy the contents of the .tag.gz file ("_navigator" folder and "Navigator.desktop" file) to your DR's SDCard/Programs. Use 7zip (not winrar or winzip) if you are uncompressing in a windows machine.

It works as an external application so no problem if you upgrade the firmware.

I'm considering including it in DR800+ but it would be available as a standalone program as well.

Great work. I'm tempted to make this my default navigator, because I like the small font a lot.

I can only think of 3 suggestions for small improvements:
- make the sorting case-insensitive
- fix the bug where if there's an '&' in the directory path, the directory and any subdirectories won't be shown in the full path at the top of the screen (i.e. "SDCARD/Books/SC & E/Java" shows up as "SDCARD/Books")
- (if not too much work) use partial refreshes for selection

Device: iRex iLiad, in love with iRex DR800S. Also a K4NT. Now a Kobo Aura

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvs

Hi Iņigo,

Great work. I'm tempted to make this my default navigator, because I like the small font a lot.

I can only think of 3 suggestions for small improvements:
- make the sorting case-insensitive
- fix the bug where if there's an '&' in the directory path, the directory and any subdirectories won't be shown in the full path at the top of the screen (i.e. "SDCARD/Books/SC & E/Java" shows up as "SDCARD/Books")
- (if not too much work) use partial refreshes for selection

Ok, in the first post there is a new package with issue #2 fixed and built with case-insensitive sorting by default (#1). Later I will add an option in the preferences.

Regarding partial refreshes (#3), I don't know how to achieve it.
In my DR800, moving cursor makes a partial refresh or a complete screen refresh randomly. It should be handled by IREX patched gtk+ libs automatically. IREX docs says that the refresh engine would make the proper action depending on the "size of the updated portion of the screen" (sic).

Ok, in the first post there is a new package with issue #2 fixed and built with case-insensitive sorting by default (#1). Later I will add an option in the preferences.

Regarding partial refreshes (#3), I don't know how to achieve it.
In my DR800, moving cursor makes a partial refresh or a complete screen refresh randomly. It should be handled by IREX patched gtk+ libs automatically. IREX docs says that the refresh engine would make the proper action depending on the "size of the updated portion of the screen" (sic).

Thanks for the quick patch and for the explanation. You're right it does use partial refreshes on many occasions (I didn't notice this the first time). Partial refreshes on my DR1000 seem to only happen when I use the buttons (instead of the stylus) to select a file and there aren't too many files/directories displayed (less then 20 perhaps). Anyway, it's not a problem, just something I noticed.

Device: iRex iLiad, in love with iRex DR800S. Also a K4NT. Now a Kobo Aura

New version on first message.

Changes:
- Bookmarks. Paths work like the header in main window, you can click on any part of the path
- Preferences: state and bookmarks. It's stored on SD_card/Programs/_config/.navigator/navigator.ini
- You can run applications (.desktop files on SD_card/Programs) or open books from shorcuts (SD_card/System/Shorcuts folder). Note System si hidden by default

It is very useful software. I have a lot of files with long names and your navigator is much better and more helpful, than standard soft.

One thing I noticed that is not exactly intuitive - your navigator do not show parent directory name as part of the file list... I took for me several minutes, before I looked up your explanations :-) and clicked top corner path to navigate off current directory.

May be it make sense to put this additional line (clickable parent dir name) as first line in the file list? (while keeping top corner info as it is - unmodified).

Device: iRex iLiad, in love with iRex DR800S. Also a K4NT. Now a Kobo Aura

Quote:

Originally Posted by igi_net

Thank you, Iņigo

It is very useful software. I have a lot of files with long names and your navigator is much better and more helpful, than standard soft.

One thing I noticed that is not exactly intuitive - your navigator do not show parent directory name as part of the file list... I took for me several minutes, before I looked up your explanations :-) and clicked top corner path to navigate off current directory.

May be it make sense to put this additional line (clickable parent dir name) as first line in the file list? (while keeping top corner info as it is - unmodified).

Thanks for your comments.

First code used to have a ".." parent entry as first item in the list but it didn't fit good with the details view, and it also made code more complex.
Anyway, I think once you know how to go up, it's much easier now.

Note two additional features:
- if you are in first entry, doing a "long left" you navigate to updir
- the path entry at top is special: clicking on parts of the "label" you can navigate to different paths... it's a poor's man breadcrumb. And same for bookmarks "labels"

To make it a suitable replacement for ctb in my book it would need the following features:
- update metadata on opening book (lastread entry)
- ability to sort on lastread and lastadded
- ability to make one of the above the default sort method

I realize though this might defeat the purpose of the program, as it was meant to be a replacement for an indexed file browser. So feel free to ignore this. I'm actually quite happy with ctb except for its inefficient use of screen space.

Device: iRex iLiad, in love with iRex DR800S. Also a K4NT. Now a Kobo Aura

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvs

To make it a suitable replacement for ctb in my book it would need the following features:
- update metadata on opening book (lastread entry)
- ability to sort on lastread and lastadded
- ability to make one of the above the default sort method

I realize though this might defeat the purpose of the program, as it was meant to be a replacement for an indexed file browser. So feel free to ignore this. I'm actually quite happy with ctb except for its inefficient use of screen space.

Well, Navigator is a file system based browser, it works over a folder view, so it doesn't have much sense to offer lastread or lastadded sorting by now (ok, unless you store all your books under the same directory in the SD card, but that would be crazy anyway).

Lastread entry is a CTB feature... but maybe we can copy it and have a special folder "last opened items"...
Other long-term ideas include tags-based browsing, so we'll need a virtual folder support for it. Then these last opened or last added views would be easier to implement.

Anyway, I expressed myself wrongly, I didn't mean to make Navigator a CTB replacement, I want to make it a CTB alternative for some types of books browsing.

Well, Navigator is a file system based browser, it works over a folder view, so it doesn't have much sense to offer lastread or lastadded sorting by now (ok, unless you store all your books under the same directory in the SD card, but that would be crazy anyway).

I agree this is probably not of much use to anyone but me. I do use the "sort by recently opened" though when I browse the SD-card (it's my default sort method).

Device: iRex iLiad, in love with iRex DR800S. Also a K4NT. Now a Kobo Aura

Quote:

Originally Posted by rvs

I agree this is probably not of much use to anyone but me. I do use the "sort by recently opened" though when I browse the SD-card (it's my default sort method).

I've been thinking on this "last read" sorting... as in fact I also use it a lot.
Maybe we can't have to wait for virtual folders navigation, I can easily store last opened items in a list and show a window (similar to bookmarks) with last 25 entries...

Even it could update global.db's "file_time_lastread" field so this could sync CTB views too.